very physical urge to take his hand, to pull him closer, to stake his claim because Bryce was still watching with hatred plain on his face. “I think I’ll pass. I’m…” Not one for exercise, not that fit, not ready to embarrass myself further. Everything sounded full of self-deprecation and he was trying to be better.
“It’s fine,” Will said easily. His hand moved back down to the paddle which he gripped with both hands. “Do you mind if I take a lap around before we head out?”
Julian blinked at him. “You don’t have to cut it short because I’m here.”
“Trust me, I’m happy to leave. Your ex is a massive dick.”
Julian leaned forward. “Did he…”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Will said, cutting him off with a sharp wave of his hand. “Believe me, I’ve dealt with worse. I’m just sorry you ever had to put up with that.” He pushed the paddle into the water again, but instead of pulling away, the board thumped against the edge of the dock. He was close enough to touch then, and he did, leaning in and curling his hand around Julian’s calf to keep steady. “You deserve better.”
Julian was lost in his eyes—the way the sun lanced through them at an angle, making them look like they were lit up with fire behind polished azure. He wasn’t really thinking when he lifted his hands and cupped Will’s face. He wasn’t letting himself consider reason or propriety when he dragged his thumbs along the cut of his jaw. “You really are incredibly beautiful.”
“Is that from Shakespeare?” Will murmured.
Julian took in a ragged breath. “If I could write the beauty of your eyes, and in fresh numbers number all your graces the age to come would say, this poet lies. Such heavenly touches ne’er touch’d earthly faces.”
Will licked his lips, leaning in with his eyes half-lidded. “Jesus.”
Julian laughed as Will’s eyes drifted entirely closed. They were less than a breath apart, just a moment that could be closed, completed with half an inch and a press of mouths. His fingers tightened on Will’s warmed skin, and something rushed through him—like want, like need, starved to know what it would be like to truly possess this man.
He had never wanted anyone the same way before—and it was mostly physical, and yet something more hovered just under the surface, waiting to be exposed.
“Get a fucking room.”
The sharp, bitter, nasal voice dragged Julian from the spell. His first instinct was to rip his hands away, to shove back, to openly reject this tender moment on display for everyone ready to humiliate and mock him. He fought it, and Will didn’t allow him a hasty retreat as he curled his fingers tighter into Julian’s calf.
“See what I mean,” he said, loud enough for Bryce to hear it. Loud enough for everyone. “He’s the worst. Leaving him was the best choice you ever made.”
And he knew that wasn’t true. The best choice he might have made was right there still holding on to him, still inches from the tips of his fingers which were slowly retreating back toward his lap. “Have dinner with me one night. Somewhere else.”
The words rushed out without any real thought, but Julian needed to put some distance between what he was feeling now and this moment with his ex watching him with narrow, hawk eyes. He saw the way the words sank into Will, the conflict on his face because it wasn’t supposed to be real in private, and Julian didn’t want to lose the thread of their agreement, but he needed it.
“Yes,” Will said, and there was determination in his voice. He used Julian’s calf to pull the board closer, dropping the paddle as he used his other hand to cup the back of Julian’s neck. He was and wasn’t prepared for the kiss that came next, Will’s lips stiff from the cold, but his tongue warm as it gently swiped at his closed mouth. He opened with a faint gasp, and let Will lick inside. It was performative, but there was a lingering heat behind it that told Julian he could have more if only he asked for it.
It would still mean nothing beyond transactional—Will was not there because he was in love with him, but Julian had asked him to make it convincing.
And to a fault—and god help him—it was.
Chapter 15
“Your brother knows,” Shen said the moment he picked up the phone.
Archer had called to unload some of the weight he’d been carrying